MIDLAND, Texas — The Supreme Court of the United States has sided with President Joe Biden on a key immigration issue. The high court cleared the way for the Biden administration to end the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy.
In a 5-4 vote, the court overturned a federal appeals decision requiring the president to restart the program. The justices ruled that the Biden administration followed all the necessary guidelines when it tried to shut down the policy.
The policy required people arriving at the southern border seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico while they were being processed. Under the program, tens of thousands of people were returned to Mexico, resulting in tent cities along the southern border.
However, not everybody believed this was a good decision. Texas State Representative Brooks Landgraf and U.S. Congressman August Pfluger believe that giving Biden the ability to reverse the policy threatens American and migrant lives here in Texas.
"This ruling frees up Congress and the Biden administration to reverse the policy that’s been in place for a number of years, and shift to a policy that has even more open borders, and I think that can be disastrous for Texas and country," Landgraf said.
Pfluger took it a step further, calling the decision a catastrophe.
"His policies have created an environment of weakness along our southern border that emboldens drug cartels, human traffickers, suspected terrorists and criminals to break our laws and put American and migrant lives in danger," Pfluger said.
Landgraf said that if the federal government isn't going to work to protect the southern border, Texas will.
"We are going to step up here in the state of Texas and do it," Landgraf said. "That’s what we’ve done. The border wall is under construction in south Texas right now. We are devoting billions, literally $4 billion to the effort to deploy state troopers and national guardsmen to do the job that the federal government is supposed to be doing."
Landgraf also believes this decision sends the wrong message to Americans and migrants alike.
"You’re basically sending a message to them saying 'hey look, the United States is the place for you to come,' but it’s obviously not a safe way to get here," Landgraf said.